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How the Benghazi Hearings Make Hillary Clinton Look Good

The biggest news coming out of the Benghazi hearings had nothing to do with the substance of its investigations. It didn’t have to do with whether or not Hillary Clinton had prior knowledge of the attacks, acted swiftly enough, or dealt honestly with American citizens in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks. What was the trending news: the condescending pauses that Republican Rep. Peter Roskam called for multiple times:

Rep. Peter Roskam (R-Ill.) repeatedly halted his questioning of Hillary Clinton during Thursday’s Benghazi Committee hearing so she could read her notes.

“I can pause while you’re reading the notes from your staff,” the member of the select committee told her. “Go ahead and read the note if you need to.”

The gesture made Clinton chuckle.

“I can do more than one thing at a time,” the former secretary of State retorted.

“I’m just giving you the courtesy of reading your notes,” Roskam responded after questioning Clinton further.

That’s the big news. The big news is that Republicans look like condescending misogynist pigs, Hillary looks like a regular Joan of Arc, and the Benghazi hearings start looking like the Salem witch trials. Fan-cussing-tastic.

Clinton has been immersed in politics for decades, and yet the panel managed to make the contrast between her manner and the ways of Washington look stark. She appeared to be a sensible outsider. At 7:15 P.M., nine hours after the hearings began, Martha Roby, of Alabama, asked Clinton about her movements when she went home on the night of the attack. “Were you alone?” she asked. Yes, Clinton said. “The whole night?” Clinton started to laugh once more. “I don’t see why that’s funny,” Roby said. Not funny, perhaps, but, like the Benghazi committee itself, absurd.

Hillary Clinton laughs is scattered throughout the transcripts of these hearings. And I’m sorry to say it might just be the most fitting synopsis for this entire debacle. I hope it’s not also the banner over the 2016 presidential election.